AYe AYe...

[sirmorris]

... what's all this then?

AYEAYE.JPG (343.23 KiB) Viewed 27064 times

[Andy Rea]

me thinks it could well be the Zon-X expznsion board... or at least the begginings of one.

Andy

[zx81jens]

*jippi*

[RWAP]

And then the question of where to get enough AY chips comes along....

However, we have a little solution up our sleeves (we hope)

[sirmorris]

me thinks it could well be the Zon-X expznsion board... or at least the begginings of one.

/me strokes chin

Hmm, what gave you that idea??

[Andy Rea]

AYe Aye can't quite put my finger on it...

[RWAP]

AYe Aye can't quite put my finger on it...

Well I could - but now I've got a great dirty fingerprint on my LCD screen....

[BrunoFlorindo]

So here's a question similar to the one I asked way back when these forums were just created...
Would this board allow for the user to select (or switch) between Zon-X compatibility and other computers (say, 128K Spectrums) AYs, or could that be done via software?

Please remember that ProjectAY has literally hundreds of files that, if playable via the ZX-Pand+AY, would help make it even more popular. Why did Sinclair computers last for as long as they did? Because of the amount of software that was available for them. Why didn't the Zon-X fly off the shelves? Because most games and software (with a few rare exceptions) never supported it.

Another reason why I ask this question: There are several trackers which demo sceners have been using for a long time (on their PCs). If they can continue doing what they already know how to do and easily export it to something the ZX-Pand can play, it also contributes to its success. If people need to learn something from scratch, program it solely on their ZX81 or refer to the Zon-X manual for further information, the end result is a negative impact on the project (and the investment).

This is my view as a user of several Sinclair machines. Opinions, as always, will vary.

[Moggy]

"...Why didn't the Zon-X fly off the shelves? Because most games and software (with a few rare exceptions) never supported it..."

Agreed Bruno I have a Zon-x and it's such a pig to program, all I can manage is a few single channel squeals and grunts, more worryingly I have never met ANYONE who achieved much more on this forum or any other or in the real world. The few examples offered have been, no offence intended, little more than single channel spectrum type beeps, which wouldn't cause Ay coders like Yerzmyey and Co any sleepless nights

I don't think it's a lack of talent just a lack of decent software, all of which seems to have been written for the Speccy, now We have the Expand, memory constaints no longer apply and with the Zeddy in fast mode both machines are on an equal speed footing.

When Charlie designed the Expand, I believe it was with the view that everyone could have their own ideas of what to do with it, modify as required etc which has been a total success, the thing about any musical interface is that basically it is a one trick pony that relies on decent software to perform that trick; I speak as a musician who, before retiring, earned a living for over forty years as such and embraced the likes of MIDI very early on and I have a good understanding of computer based music.

I learned very quickly that it was decent applications and sequencer software that could make or break equipment . The Amiga had a plug in MIDI box and no software as such so remained in principle a games machine whereas the Atari STE running the excellent Cubase v2 (still use Mine) achieved a studio and home longevity far beyond what it should have, and I speak as one who had to use the dreadful DOS based software that held PC based studio usage up for so long.


A long rant I know but I would really like Charlie to have the same success with this as with the Expand , but without any decent software (not just an Ay player) I think it will go the way of the Zon-x and therefore whats the point of its creation?
Hope I'm wrong and if any software is written it should be usable for MUSICIANS not just programmers which a lot of the Speccy stuff, in My opinion, appears to be.

Charlie You designed the Expand to be usable straight out of the box for the ordinary punter,but with scope for the developer, You achieved that 100%.
I beg You please apply that same ethos to any musical interface You design,
as a Musician I make a terrible programmer so I rely on the Tech Heads out there to have some musical understanding, which They should have why build a thing without understanding it's application? Everything I have come across so far from a software point of view seems to be for the Authors use not the end users use.

Sorry for going off on one but I would really love this one to fly and remember if these are going to be sold to the public ,the man in the street is going to need more than a flyer saying plug in have fun and enjoy,some form of instruction will be required which , hopefully , will take the form of self explanatory usable software.

Apologies for any offence caused by My opinions.


Regards Moggy

[sirmorris]

I was googling around for things like 'ay sequencer' 'ay tracker' etc. etc. I won't have the time personally to invent such a thing, but if there was something that could be ported...